Two become three
by lordofthebreakdance
Summary: What if Kate had a little sister? When their parents die in acar crash, she is left in Kate's care. Ari's on the prowl again as well, making things take a sharp turn. But is it for the worst? Kari Pairing later!
1. Chapter 1

She couldn't quite believe it.

They were gone.

The two people who had loved her, raised her from birth; The ones who showed her right from wrong, who protected her from the chaos of having three older brothers and two sisters. They were dead and Erin wasn't.

Kate had been sitting in the bullpen, sketching. Tony kept looking over to see what exactly she was drawing but she blocked him from seeing.

Gibbs came around that corner and she knew instantly that something was wrong. He usually looked straight ahead and sat at his desk, drinking his coffee.

Today was different.

He looked to her, shaking his head. She stood up slowly.

"Boss, what's wrong?" Tony asked, not getting the message. As with all things, this was completely over his head. She would have glared at him if it wasn't for the situation.

"Kate, director's office. Now." He told her, not ordered. She followed him as quickly as possible, not quite sure what exactly was going on but not liking any of it.

In Jenny's office, was a highway patrol officer along with the director. Her face had the same sad, worried look on her face as Gibbs. Kate suddenly had that sinking feeling that it was elementary school teachers saying the bad news.

"Kate, please sit."

She immediately sat in the chair facing her desk. Gibbs just leaned against the door frame, his arms crossed over his chest.

"Ma'am," The officer began slowly, as if not really sure what to say. "Are you a Miss Caitlin Todd?" He asked. The way he said it made her skin crawl. Some was terribly wrong.

"Yes. Who are you?"

"I'm Officer Johnson with the Highway Patrol. I was on duty this morning when a blue sedan with the Miami license plate 21138351 lost control and cause a two car pileup."

Kate remembered that car. Her younger sister, Erin, hated it when her parents got it. She thought that it was a car for soccer moms, not for musicians traveling together.

"…..My parents?"

He nodded. "Yes. I'm sorry for your loss. Your little sister-"

Tears began to fall down her cheeks. "Erin too?"

"No. She's in Washington Yard Naval Hospital."

XOX

Kate could hardly believe that the lifeless form in the hospital bed was her baby sister. She was asleep with an IV in one arm, a cast around the other. Her face was as white as the sheet she was lying on.

Erin and Kate were never the best of friends as far as siblings went. They were nearly twelve years apart. Their father called them his little artists because what Erin was to music as Kate was to drawing. Kate was brilliant with a pencil while Erin was a prodigy with the piano at seventeen.

"Katie?" Kate looked up from her tear soaked hands to see her sister looking her over the railing of the bed. Her eyes said it all as Erin broke down crying.

The last thing Erin Todd remembered before waking up in a hospital was the glass. Her parents were driving up from Miami to see Kate for the weekend. Erin and Kate didn't exactly get along but it got her out of school a day early.

She was listening to her i-pod. Love me by Yiruma, it was a piece she was learning for competition that was coming up. The prize? Scholarship, of course!

The next thing she knew, her mother screamed. Glass blew out the left side with a force that slammed her to the opposite window. Her head connected with the side but the pain in her arm was worse. The pain became so intense that she blacked out to wake up with Kate sobbing next to her.

The truth was obvious.

Kate didn't know exactly how to tell her but when her seventeen year old sister's arms came around her like she was the elder, she knew she didn't have to.

Gibbs then saved the day with a teddy bear.


	2. Chapter 2

Erin couldn't quite believe that after a week in the hospital, she was just suppose to leave and act like nothing had happened. Kate tried to get her to talk to the counselor who came practically on a daily basis but she couldn't.

It was as if someone had put a barrier in her throat whenever someone tried to talk to her about it.

"Until the Lawyers look at Mom and Dad's will," Kate told her as the nurse wheeled her out of the hospital to the front where Tony had pulled up. "You're going to be staying with me at my apartment. Is that okay?"

She nodded. "That's fine. Do you still have that keyboard?"

"Ever since your last visit when you were all but beating your head against the wall in boredom because there was no music anywhere."

"Yes, I think you got me an art set for that Christmas."

They both laughed but it was a tight uncomfortable one. Erin stood up slowly and sat in the backseat of Tony's Alexis. She gripped in the armrest with a white-knuckled grip as Kate scooted into the passenger seat.

Erin knew that Tony was as good as another brother to Kate. Erin like him well enough but she knew that having a barely seventeen year old living with her sister didn't make her a guy magnet.

Then again, that was never her fault. Kate was a prude!

Tony leaned over to talk to Kate. He wasn't aware that Erin had pianist's ears that could pick up anything. So she pretended to be consumed by panic of being in a car after an accident that nearly killed her.

"Ari's back."

Kate's shoulder's tightened at the thought of how that bastard had held her hostage, and then turned right back around and kidnapped her. Erin picked up this sign of stress, deciding to keep pretending to listen to her new i-pod that slam full of piano and classic rock. Music soothed her nerves.

"What do you mean he's back?!" She snarled, holding his arm in a death grip that would leave bruises for days. "Didn't Gibbs shoot him already?"

"I wish. That would make life so much easier, despite having a certain female's finger nails in my arm, Kate." He told her right before getting slapped upside the head.

Erin stifled a nervous giggle that came out like a cough. Tony looked back at her and grinned.

"So, Kate said you like music."

"It's alright."

"What sort of bands are you into?"

Kate looked ready to slap him silly but Erin couldn't help but grin.

"Nothing but the oldies. Anything between Buddy Holly and Nirvana. Nothing after." She said in a monotone, looking out the window. "I play piano so I listen to everything before."

"Any favourites?"

"The Doors."

"Interesting. The Doors, starring Val Kilmer-"

Kate cut him off with a swift punch to his arm. "Wrong Doors! Jim Morrison, you ee-jit!"

"Most guys have to get married first to get this kind of abuse!"


	3. Chapter 3

**Bored, so I'm adding another chapter. Reviews would be so nice! I promise it'll pick up soon!**

Kate opened the front door of her apartment and held it open for Erin, who's arm was still in a sling. She walked in and looked around the bland apartment.

Things still hadn't changed much. Kate still had everything in shades of tan, white, and gray. A few of her drawings were up on the walls but that was it as far as unorthodox decorations went.

"Tony, just put that in the guest room." Kate told him, drawing Erin out of her thoughts to follow him. He went down the hall but Kate stopped her as he gave a shout of surprise.

"What-"

"Abby and Gibbs decorated your room. I'm just warning you ahead of time before you go in." She then gestured with her hand, telling Erin to go see for herself.

Erin just about sprinted down the hall to her new room. Abby had awesome tastes as far as she was concerned so the idea that she got full reign on her bedroom was all too enticing.

Erin gave shout of surprise as she skidded to a halt at the door. Kate stood behind her and gave a halting gasp of mixed horror and surprise.

All over the walls, from floorboards to ceiling were posters. The Beatles were above her bed, Buddy holly was on the back of her door, Led Zeppelin was next to the dresser, and The Doors were on the ceiling. Erin laughed for the first time since the accident when she saw that.

Tony set the suitcase on the bed in the corner that had piano keys stamped on the comforter with black and white sheets. He looked around in shock like they were and nearly tripped over the keyboard on table at the foot of the bed.

"I didn't know you like music this much. "

"I didn't either know I did either."

Tony scooted past them to go to the living room. He left, making Erin a promise of a movie night the following evening. Kate shooed him off with threats of secret service moves that ended up in pain. He didn't need to be told twice after that.

They were left alone.

The two sister didn't know exactly what to say to each other.

_Sorry about mom and dad._

_That's okay, they were kinda old anyway._

Not likely.

"I'm going to go put my clothes away, then…" Erin made to leave but Kate followed.

"I'll help-"

"No, I've got it. Thanks though."

Erin had no plans to put her clothes away. Instead, she sat at the piano. It was trickier with one hand but she turned it on, turning the volume down so Kate wouldn't hear.

She didn't know that pianists ears were hereditary.

"B, C, A, A, F…."She murmured under her breath, struggling to play with one hand. It made her wrist hurt to attempt to move that quickly. It was a breeze when her arm wasn't in a cast. Now, it was just frustrating.

She threw up her hands and burst into tears. Kate ran into the room, throwing her arms around her sister.

"Why, Katie? Why them?"

She had no answer. All she could do was be a big sister for Erin, not much else.

The phone rang obnoxiously. Erin looked up to her sister.

"Let it ring."

"No, people will think something's wrong." Erin replied, grabbing it. "The Caller ID says unknown number. Should we answer it?" Erin was referring to the Ari situation but Kate didn't know she knew about it yet.

"Yeah, it's probably Gibbs checking up on us. He's like that."

Erin nodded and answered the phone.

"Hello?"

"_Miss me, Caitlin?"_

"Nope, this is Erin. You're looking for my sister. _Her _is Kate."

Erin looked to Kate with wide eyes only to have the phone snatched out of her hands by her panicked sister. She snarled into the phone.

"Who is this?"

"_Must you be so rude, Caitlin? I was having a lovely chat with your sister."_

"You leave my sister alone. What do you want, Ari?"

"_Just checking in on how you and your new ward are. I just got word. I'm terribly sorry for your loss."_

"Somehow, I doubt that. What do you want?!"

"_I want nothing from you, Caitlin. Perhaps we can discuss this later but I must be going. I will you see you both soon. Shalom!"_

A click told her that he had hung up. She didn't. Instead, she pressed the dial button and called Gibbs.

"_Gibbs."_

"Jethro, we've got a problem."

**Next chapter: Ari comes in!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Thanks for the reviews! But as always, more are nice!**

Kate kept to Erin for the next week. Gibbs ordered her to never let her out of her sight, not even when she was sleeping. Fortunately, Erin had enough common sense to understand why her sister was sleeping in her room on a camp bed.

The funeral came and went. All the Todd siblings were on auto-pilot, hugging gently, telling people "Thank you for coming." as if they had practiced it all day. Mostly because they had, but that didn't matter, now did it?

Kate wore a black dress that came to her knees and cardigan. Erin wore an old black dress that her mother made her wear to a competition. She fought her every step of the way, saying that a nun's habit was more revealing. But her mother loved the dress. Her short black hair was scraped up into a messy bun while Kate left hers down, like always.

"Ashes to ashes, dust to dust…" The father casted a handful of dirt across each of the coffins. Sarah, Micheal, Paul, and Peter were misty eyed, but Kate and Erin were stone. They had cried all they could already.

Erin looked up to the trees that surrounded the Todd Family plot. Whoever picked it, picked well. It was a nice area, with trees that almost completely hid from passerby on the highway up the hill.

Almost.

If it had, Erin would have never picked out the spy.

Far off, Partially hidden behind a tree, a man was watching the entire scene enfold. He wore a black leather jacket, with a red helmet hanging from one hand. He had a clean shaven face, black hair wore in a crew cut close to his scalp. His eyes were covered by a pair of sunglasses which he, then removed to see a pair of dark eyes.

His head turned as their eyes met. Erin quickly looked away, somehow knowing that this man was, in fact, Ari. She grabbed her sister's hand in a tight grip as she looked up again to see if the man with a motorcycle helmet was still there.

He was, and he was still looking at her. Erin wanted so badly to panic by leaning over to her sister and telling her that Ari was watching them but she wasn't sure that the man was Ari. She didn't want to ruin her parents's funeral by making her sister go crazy with a gun.

He smirked a little and put a finger to his lips, before disappearing into the tears

XOX

Finally, the will.

Kate changed into work clothes as Erin changed into Jeans and a t-shirt with a Hootie & the Blowfish logo on it. They parked the car in the parking garage of the court house before meeting in the conference room.

Micheal Todd, his wife, Peter Todd, Paul Todd, and Sarah Todd with her husband sat around the oak conference table. Micheal was at the head of the table, a lawyer was in the corner making sure that everything was legit.

"Glad to see you could make it." He replied simpily as they sat to the table as well. "_To my loving_ _family…_" He began to read his father's will in a loud clear voice.

The demands were not extravagant by any means. The house went to the church, the money was spilt six ways, (Erin's share went into her college savings plan.) and what they wanted was theirs except the straight piano in the living room that went to Erin since she bought it with her own money.

"_Finally, we wish that custody of our youngest child Erin Margret Todd be in place of our second youngest, Caitlin Marie Todd. We have a firm belief that Kate will raise Erin with the correct upbringing that we, as parents, desire."_

That was that.

Erin's siblings were robots again, not really caring what happened now that they didn't have to worry about another mouth to feed. She was happy to stay with Kate instead another of her siblings.

"When can we get the piano?" She asked as they walked into the parking garage. Kate laughed, remote unlocking her car with an obnoxious beep.

"How big are we talking? A baby grand or something because I'm not sure we can get it up to the apartment, let alone actually get it inside the place."

A laugh sounded but it wasn't Erin's. It echoed through their level of the parking garage along with the sound of footsteps. Kate looked to her baby sister, full wing panic taking over. That meant _WWGD?_

_What would Gibbs do?_

Kate grabbed her little sister by the back of her neck and whispered in her ear. "Get under the car. _Now._" She pushed her little sister under her car. "Do not come out until Gibbs himself says to. Do you hear me?"

Erin couldn't respond. A thickly accented voice came into play.

"Who are you talking to, Caitlin?"

_Ari._


	5. Chapter 5

Erin held her breath as she saw a pair of motorcycle boots walk lackadaisically over to her sister's sneakers. Kate took a nervous step back, trying not give anything a way of his sister's hiding place.

In her pocket, her cell phone vibrated. She slowly pulled it out. The caller id said _Gibbs._ She could have cried in relief that the man was calling. He was probably checking to see how everything went with the hearing.

She flipped it open and pressed mute on the incoming call. With her left arm, (Her unbroken one.) she held it out to pick up the conversation.

"Did you miss me, Caitlin?"

"Like a hangover."

"Who were you talking to? I heard voices."

"Cell phone. Ever heard of one?"

There was a pause in their conversation as motorcycle boots

"Where's your sister, Caitlin? I was hoping for an opportunity to meet her. I saw her at the funeral, you both look very much alike-"

_The man with the red helmet __was __Ari!_ Erin couldn't help being guilty for not telling her sister that someone was watching them when they were at the funeral. They could have avoided this situation altogether!

There was a smacking sound as the motorcycle boots stumbled a step back. "You stay away from my sister! She's nothing to you!"

Motorcycle boots moved forward as Kate's shoes moved back. Her heel clipped Erin's cell, making it clatter to the floor. Erin moved away and froze as quickly as she could, trying to get away from the pair of shoes before he realized where the sound came from.

"Did you hear that?" Motorcycle boots moved around the car, looking for the source. Erin could barely keep a fully functioning head as he moved around, continuing his search.

"I didn't hear anything, Ari. You've lost your mind." Kate said in a tight voice. Erin mentally slapped her upside the head. You would think a secret service agent would have better acting abilities than _that!_

Ari's boots stomped back over to Kate's shoes again. "I'm tired of your games, Caitlin."

"No! Please, Ari!-"

A gunshot went off, making Erin scream involuntarily. Ari went over to the right side of the car, and knelt down to look under the car.

Their eyes connected as he reached under grab her cast. Kate reached at the same time and pulled her out before Ari could grab her. The parts under the car scraped her back, tearing the fabric and drawing blood. Erin yelled out in pain.

"ERIN RUN!" Kate screamed, shoving her off.

Erin bolted as fast as she could to the stairs, yelling into the phone, "Gibbs, we're in the parking garage of the Norfolk court house. Ari-"

Two arms grabbed her from behind, snatching the phone from her hand. Another man, wearing all black and a ski mask. Eh spoke in an even worse accent than Ari's. "Special Agent Gibbs, the girls are just fine." He waited for a response but the phone was still on mute. "Has anger silenced you, Agent Gibbs? The girls will be fine."

Erin tried to work some Secret service moves Kate had taught her but his arms were like steel bands. He hung up the phone, placed it back her pocket, then worked to drag Erin down the stairs to a different level.

He laughed as she kicked her legs out to hit his shins and hopefully cause some sort of damage. He just laughed harder, yanking her faster. He jerked her to a black windowless van. _Kate, where are you?!_ She thought in panic as she continued kicking at the man as he shoved her into the van's open doors.

Inside was none other than Kate, her hands handcuffed behind her back and Ari sitting next to her. The man holding Erin let go, slammed the door shut and went to the driver's seat. A screech of rubber, and they were leaving.

Ari smirked at his two captives. "I would handcuff Erin as well but it seems she has a cast. I don't think it would fit around it. But, then again…" He moved to get closer to Kate, more than either of them would have liked.

Out of nowhere, Erin's stark white cast came in his line of vision. He heard the plaster crack it connected. Blood came up but it wasn't too bad. He had worse than that before. He cracked his neck and grabbed the cast as it came again.

The first hit had cracked it. The gap started in between the ring and middle finger of her right hand down to the wrist. She had decked him harder than it actually felt to him. He had to smile at her courage though as she attempted to pull her arm out of his grasp.

"It would be wise not to do that again. Unless you wish to break you arm again, then by all means." He jutted out his chin to make a point for her to hit him again. She revered her fist back but he spoke again. "But your piano abilities would be severely limited."

Her fist dropped like a stone to her side as he knew he won the argument.


	6. Chapter 6

**Okay, every song mentioned in the story can be found on my profile as the chapters are updated. Reviews would be lovely!**

After what seemed to be hours after the parking garage, the van squealed to a stop. Erin braced her feet to keep from sliding forward as the driver got out.

The drive to wherever they were was not a good one. Ari kept making stabs at small talk along the way that made Kate scoff and extremely angry, especially when his attention turned to Erin.

"Do you enjoy the music you play?"

Erin looked away and didn't reply. Suddenly, Kate's sneakers and her black Chuck Taylors were much more interesting than chatting with a terrorist. Ari gave a small chuckle but nothing more for the rest of the excursion.

The door flew open and a sack went over her head. She almost yelled out in fright but didn't when she heard nothing from Kate. Ari's hand went around the back of her neck.

Through the bag, she heard him whisper in her ear. "If you value your sister's safety, I would try nothing." She cringed but his grip tightened to the point of pain. "Am I understood?"

"Crystal."

"What?"

Erin's good hand went to her forehead. "Nothing, never mind."

Kate and Erin both felt Ari pause. Erin yelped as she felt Ari's hand touch the torn parts of her back. She attempted to jerk away but he let go of her neck to tie the shreds together.

"You're injured. I'll patch you when we get inside."

His hand returned to their necks as he forced them out of the van. Erin could feel asphalt, grass, and the stairs. He opened a door, still forcing the two along him. Erin felt the slipperiness of hardwood under her shoes as Ari turned a corner.

There was a movement. He said something in Hebrew and she then heard Kate fighting as she was taken up some more stairs, away from Erin and Ari.

"KATE!" Erin yelled, attempting to run after her only to be pulled back by the collar of her t-shirt. She hear a few stitches pop at the effort.

"Dang it! This is my favourite shirt!" She snapped under her breath. Ari stopped, as she felt him grab her shoulders, pressing down slightly.

"Sit."

She did, as the bag came off her head. Ari was sitting on a couch, behind him were bay windows showing a line of trees. They were in the woods.

Swell.

They were in a house, not a compound like she almost thought. The room the two were sitting in was a parlor. Ari made her sit on the coffee table, a first aid kit next to him along with a stack of plaster strips and a bowl of water.

"Now, let me see your back." He gestured for her to turn around.

Erin raised an eyebrow, crossing her arms over her chest. "Hell no!"

He then sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration. "I forgot who is your sibling. Stubbornness must be a hereditary thing with the Todd family."

"You should have seen our mother." She told him smugly.

"What will it take to convince you to turn around?" He asked, ignoring her comment. His face was still in his palm. "I do not have all day to waste, waiting for you."

"Then why do it?"

"I don't think Caitlin would like it if her little sister got an infection with a fully qualified doctor right within reach." He stood and took a picture from the wall. He then handed it to her. "Is this satisfactory?"

It wasn't a picture. It was a diploma from Edinburgh Medical university. Ari wasn't a fool, he knew exactly what he was doing. Erin groaned, and turned her back to him.

"Much better. This may feel a little cold." He warned her as he began to smooth anti-biotic cream on her scratches. "Your sister's profile said that you are a musical prodigy."

"Used to be."

"Used to be? How can you stop what is natural to you, Erin?" He asked, getting some more of the cream on his fingers before returning to his work. "Medicine is nature to me. I was top of my class."

"Don't want to play anymore. It's useless anyway." She told him. "Listening is better than playing."

Ari took his hands off her back. She turned to face him as he wiped his hands on a towel. He then set to work on her cast that had spilt even more since she broke it. She had decked him harder than he remembered.

He squeezed the cast to close the gap. She winced in pain, not showing pain. Ari smirked at her attempt but he had been trained to have an eye for detail. He looked to her t-shirt for details. It was grey with an orange band logo on the front of it that he recognised.

"Hmmm. Hootie & The Blowfish. I never really was a fan." He told her as he finished. He then pointed to the back of the room. There was a small straight piano against the wall. Erin's face lit up but she tried to hide it. She looked back at Ari.

"Would you like to play something?"

She shook her head. "No, I don't play anymore."

He scoffed. "I bet you do. Play a song for me. I won't tell Kate or anyone about it." He told her in a voice unlike the one she had heard in the parking garage.

She shrugged and sat on the bench. With one hand, she played the first song that came to her head. Ari was Isreali, so she decided to play an irish tune to mess with him. Kate would get a kick out of it. She place five fingers on the middle C and began to play Rights of man, an irish jig tune.

When she finished, there was no applause. Ari was standing behind her. He then took a sharpie and wrote on her cast. "Try this band. I rather like their music."

He wrote:

_Artist: Jim Morrison  
Band: The Doors_


	7. Chapter 7

To her dismay, Ari rested his arm around Erin's shoulder once her cast was back into a sling. She cringed, trying to shrug him off when he lead her through the house. He changed to holding her shoulders tightly with his hands.

The house was a mansion with hardwood floors and lots of windows to remind Erin that they were in the middle on the woods and no roads were anywhere in sight. Either the van was parked in the grass or in the woods and Ari lead them through it to the house because it was hidden in the words.

He lead the teen down a long hallway with three doors. At the end, sat a man with a long black beard and hair, a gun resting on his lap. Ari ordered something to him that made him withdraw a key and unlock the door.

Inside was a queen sized bed with clean white sheets and blankets. There was a single window letting in sunshine over the door. There was a wooden dresser and a dressing table with a mirror.

On the bed sat Kate. She jumped to her feet at the sight of her little sister with the man she hated with a passion. She pulled the seventeen year old away from him to hold her to her tightly as if she were a small child.

Ari stood in the door way.

"I hope your room is to your liking." He commented, looking at them with foreign eyes. The two were unaware that sibling love like their's was very strange to him. Kate pulled Erin to her even tighter, having Erin's wrap her arms around her sister.

"As much as it can be for a cell." Kate snapped.

Ari took a step forward, making the sisters step backwards further into the room. He looked around the room before looking back to them again.

"Dinner won't be for a few hours. I'll have something to eat be brought to you before then."

With that he left.

Kate and Erin sat on the bed. Erin hugged her sister as tightly as she could, trying not to cry.

"I was so afraid I wasn't going to see you again!"

"No, Baby, I'm right here. He didn't hurt you, did he? I swear I'll kill him!" Kate held her sister to her, letting her rest her head on her lap. She gently stroked her hair, something their mother used to do.

She sniffed, wiping tears from her face. "No, Kate. He just mended my back and fixed my cast. That was all. But they took you away and then he wouldn't let me go to you and I was so scared, I didn't know what to do –"

"Shhh..." Her sister cooed, kissing her sister's head and continued playing with her hair. "You are with me now. You are okay..."

She continued to murmur to her sister as the teenager cried. Soon her sobs lowered to tears until her breathing evened out as she cried herself to sleep. Kate felt a tinge of envy that her sister had an escape while she was left to deal with the current situation.

Then again, their parents hadn't been death even a month and her sister had personally witnessed it. Now she had a kidnapping to cope with on top of that. Erin was one teen who honestly couldn't catch a break and Kate couldn't do anything to help her, making her feel even worst.

She sat against the head board with her sister's head in her lap, playing with her hair. Erin's breathing was smooth and easy as she slept, at peace at least for a little bit.

The door opened as Ari walked in, holding a bowl of fruit. Seeing Kate on the bed with Erin's sleeping form, he set it on the dressing table and sat at the foot.

"She has been having a rough time." He whispered, watching the teen sleep as he spoke. As if Erin could sense his presence, she kicked her legs and sighed, burying her face into her sister's knees.

Kate glared at him furiously. "I should say so! Our parents haven't been dead a month and she's had to deal with not only witnessing it but the fact that my siblings didn't want her and moving away from her school and friend. Now she's dealing with a kidnapping! She;s scared out of her mind and I can't do anything to help her either! You are one sick bastard!" Her voice was quiet and laden with venom.

Ari watched her closely, his dark eyes full of awe at this woman who cared so much for the teen that she was willing to tell off a terrorist on behalf of the child.

His face betrayed nothing. No guilt or anything that could remotely portray him as human to Kate. He looked back at the sleeping teen on the bed, now lying on her back to face the ceiling.

"Caitlin, She won't play piano. I have one in the front room, a Steinway wall piano. She refused to touch it until I almost begged her. She would only play a little diddy before refusing to play anymore." He murmured, his voice holding a slight tinge of worry.

"She's scared, Ari. What would you expect – "

"No, Caitlin. She saw it on the wall the moment I took the bag off her head. I've never seen someone hold back so much at once. It was as if she was using a solitary branch to hold back a river."

As he spoke, he moved around the bed to sit at the teen's feet. He gently untied her high top Chuck Taylors to pull them off gently. Erin continued to be oblivious to the entire conversation between the adults, rolling over onto her side.

Kate looked away; refusing to appear vulnerable to someone she hated so much. "I don't know what to do. She won't talk about it. She doesn't play piano or socialize at all with anyone. All she'll do is eat, sleep and listen to music. It's all I can do to bring her to tell me if she wants to go somewhere or eat something and I don't even think she'd do that if I didn't ask her to."

A solitary cheek rolled down her cheek. It burns terribly for it fell in front of someone she hated enough to talk about a topic she was extremely sensitive about. What kind of hate was that?

Ari's hand brushed the tear away. His hand was warm and comforting to her and she hated that she liked it. She hated how even before the kidnapping she had developed feelings for him that no one could know about.

Not even him.

His hand remained on her cheek and he murmured, "She's grieving, Caitlin, badly. She lost a great deal of people in a very small amount of time. She needs to help. That's why I brought you here."

Ari could have slapped her and she wouldn't have been more shocked. Ari Haswari was not only being kind and understanding of their situation, but he wanted to help them?

"How would you - ? How can you – ?" Kate couldn't find the words to say what was on her mind.

"I've lost many of my friends and confidantes over the years. My little sister, Talia, was killed in a Hamas bombing while we were walking home from school one afternoon. I became a mole to get revenge on the men who killed my sister. I don't want your sister to be that bitter. You, Caitlin have lost people like I have, during your time protecting the president."

"Yes." She admitted quietly.

"I want to help your sister. If you would allow her to stay here for a little while, only a month, not forever, I could help her." He leaned forward, his hands resting on top of hers. "What do you say to that?"

Kate looked at him like he had completely lost his mind.

"Are you crazy? Leaving my baby sister with you for a month? No!" She hissed through angry, clenched teeth.

As if on cue, Erin started to twitch in her sleep. Kate jumped at her sister's sudden movement. Ari stood up, trying not to jar the bed.

"Mom...no! Stop! Stop the car!" She murmured. Kate looked to Ari, her eyes wide. Ari was looking at the sleeping teen, his eyes full of knowing.

"NO! DAD! DADDY!" She cried. The teen cried in her sleep, tears falling down her cheeks from her closed eyes. "I'll never play again...Never, ever, ever again..."

Kate and Ari shared a look of worry. The teen cried and shook in her sleep as Kate looked away from Ari.

"You are one crazy bastard, Haswari..." She growled under her breath.

"Caitlin, I swear on my sister's grave that she will be fine. You have to trust me." He told her, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "Will you do it for your sister that you love so very much?"

Kate looked at her sister, sobbing in her arms. With a frustrated sigh, she nodded. "Fine, Ari. I'm going to let my sister spend a month with a terrorist. What am I going to do until then?"

"I will return you to your home tomorrow morning. When asked about your sister, you will say that she is with school friends before returning to you for a school semester. Things will smooth over and your little sister will return to you."

Kate looked down at her sister and back to the man standing at her elbow. "I feel like I'm abandoning her. Am I really doing what's best? How do I know I can trust you?"

Ari leaned down, their faces at eye level. She looked into those kind, dark eyes that she fell for in the autopsy room with Ducky and Gerard.

"Your sister will be fine, Caitlin. I promise you this."

Erin's eyes fluttered open. The two adults flew a part as the teen moved away from to the other side of the bed, away from Ari. She cowered into her sister, her eyes full of confusion and fear.

"What's _he_ doing here, Kate?" She looked to her, trying to understand. Kate felt her heart wrench at her words, knowing that she was going to leave her with the man she was so afraid of.

"He's just coming to check up on us. Ari brought us some fruit so we won't be so hungry before dinner. Are you hungry?" She said this to her little sister in a soft voice, playing with her jet black hair gently.

Erin shook her head, her eyes glued on Ari. She glared at Ari angrily for a solid minute. He smiled and left the two, leaving the door unlocked.

All Kate could think as she watched her sister eat an apple from the bowl was: _Ari Haswari, you better not screw this up! I swear to god I'll kill you if you mess my sister up anymore._


	8. Chapter 8

The night, Kate watched Erin again while she slept.

While they had eaten a dinner of falafel and couscous at an awkward table setting of the three of them, Ari had clothes brought to their little room so Erin had things to wear. Erin was completely oblivious to all that was happening, simply choosing to push her food around her plate.

All the while, guilt ate Kate from the inside out. She watched her sister's listlessness and shared a knowing look with Ari who watched it too.

Erin was in sky blue, plaid pyjama pants with a black t-shirt that she found in the drawers. Kate provoked her, just about begged her to do it so she wouldn't try something stupid like running away. Kate didn't change, under the claim that she would be on guard to protect her little sister.

Around two o'clock in the morning, Ari pushed the door open slightly. Kate winced at the light shining in the room from the hallway. She leaned down and kissed her little sister on the forehead. She sighed into her pillow, turning away from her even in her sleep.

Ari watched this moment of affection with wary eyes. He knew that Kate did trusted him a miniscule amount and that Erin didn't trust him at all. He was going to be spending the next month with a sulky teen.

He was doing it willingly. Ari Haswari lost many people in his lifetime, friends, confidantes, _Family. _It turned him into an incredibly bitter, anger man with more issues than he cared to admit. Strangely enough, he was willing to put it all aside to help the little sister of the woman he was in love with. Kate would surely what him then, when her Erin was returned to her, the image of a normal teenage prodigy again. Petty, wasn't it? Getting on the good side with her little sister in order to her over?

Ari never lacked in dates, attention from women was not something new to him. However, Kate was different. She hated him with a fiery passion and it was that passion that attracted him to her. He would fix every single being affected by death in her life if it meant winning her over.

She brushed hair from her sister's face. Erin turned away, subconsciously pushing her sister away even in her sleep. Kate bit her lip to keep from sobbing as she stood from the bed to go out into the lit hallway.

"Haswari, if you mess this up..."She growled, her eyes shining with tears. Ari held her face in his hands as he kissed her forehead.

"I will take care of her, my Caitlin. She will be alright."

Kate let a sob escaped. Ari pulled her to his chest, letting her bury her face into his soccer jersey that he was wearing. She pushed away, against him with her small fists. She struggled against his strong arms but he held her tightly as she finally broke down.

"I feel like I'm abandoning her. She'll never forgive me for this!"

"She will, once she realizes that you are doing this because you love her. She'll forgive you in an instant when she's better. Right now, she needs to grieve away from everyone who will judged her and expect her, encourage her even, to act like nothing happened."

Kate sobbed in his chest as he smoothed her hair, murmuring words of comfort to her. Finally, he gently pushed her away to guide her to the garage where his accomplice was waiting with a blind fold to drive her home.

"Is this really necessary?" She asked as he tied it around her eyes as she sat in the passenger seat. He buckled her in and shut the door, leaning in the window.

"Yes, I can't have you interfering with what's going to happen. You have to live your life while we take care of things out here. You can't just come bobbing in whenever you feel like."

"It's popping in, Ari."

He smiled at her using his real name. "I like it when you call me Ari."

"Mess this up and I'll be calling you worst things than Bastard, _Ari."_ She half smiled as the man with the beard turned on the engine and drove out the grass driveway to the woods.

Screaming could be heard suddenly inside the house. Ari bolted into survival mode as he ran all the way back the room where Erin was suppose to be sleeping.

She still was. Her body was shaking side to side as she buried her face into her hands, sobs ripping through her. She screamed in her sleep out of fear. Ari seat on the foot of the bed and shook her shoulders hard. She didn't respond to his touch.

"DAD! BREAKS! USE THE BREAKS! DAD –"

"ERIN!" He yelled over her.

She awoke with a start. Upon seeing his face, she began to cry again as she realized that her situation hadn't changed. The teen curled into a ball with her knees to her chest, sobbing in fear of her dreams and the man next to her.

Ari gently outstretched a hand and rested it upon her hair, the way he had seen Kate do it when she was sleeping the day before. Erin's entire body seized at the unorthodox gesture as he gently brushed hair out of her face.

"Shhh...you're alright. I'm here."

She sniffed, wiping her face with her hands before pushing Ari's hand away. "I don't want you here. Go away." Her voice was cracked with tears and distrust. She edged away from him, rolling over to face him. "Where's my sister? Where's Kate?"

"She had to leave. You're going to be staying with me for a little while, Erin." He murmured, still reaching over to stroke her hair again. She blocked him with her casted hand. His hand collided painfully with the hard surface.

"No."

"No?"

"I won't stay here. Kate wouldn't just go without telling me why." She started to sit up when Ari gently pushed her shoulder back down into the bed. She shrugged him away.

"It was an emergency at work. Gibbs knows about it. He knows that you're here and is perfectly fine with it." He lied through his teeth as the teen shot him the filthiest look he'd ever seen on a adolesant. "You don't have to believe me. I know the truth and that's all the matters at this moment in time."

"Go away." She growled, realizing that she was stuck with him for a while. He stared at her blankly, stunned at her bluntness.

"I'm not going away until you go back to sleep."

"I'm not going back to sleep until you go away."

"I'm not going away until you go back to sleep."

"I'm not going back to sleep until you go away."

"I'm not going away until you go back to sleep."

"I'm not going back to sleep until you go away."

"Fine then." His face was completely calm, not giving away a single bit of the frustration he felt on the inside, churning in his stomach.

"Fine." She snapped, furious at his lack of reaction. Erin rolled back over onto her side, her back facing Ari. He ran a hand gently over her hair once again only to have her slap it away.

He swung his legs up so he was sitting on the bed, leaning against the headboard. His hand continuously played Erin's hair, despite how much she pushed him away. She growled in frustration, crossing her arms in defiance. When she did that, Ari could see how skinny she was from not eating. Her ribs were strikingly visible beneath the t-shirt she wore. That was something else he would have to fix during their time.

Erin closed her eyes. When she did this, it was easier to pretend that it was _her father _who was playing with her hair with feather-light fingertips. _Her father_ was stroking her hair lightly, just like when she was sick or sad or any kind of negative emotion. _Her father_ was sitting with her, comforting her over a nightmare, not six feet in the ground.

She missed him very badly.

Erin sighed, determined not to give in to Ari's wish until he scooted closer. She edged away until she was in danger of falling off the ledge. She could smell spices off of his clothing as he leaned over her, his hand in her hair while the other rested on her shoulder. His voice slowly began to sing a very soft lullaby, murmuring in a voice as comforting and sweet as a warm blanket. She had no choice but to listen to his little song that he sang softly:

"_Oyfn veg shteyt a boym,  
Shteyt er ayngeboygn,  
Ale feygl funem boym  
Zaynen zikh tsefloygn._

Dray keyn mayrev, dray keyn mizrekh,  
Un der resht - keyn dorem,  
Un dem boym gelozt aleyn  
Hefker far dem shturem.

Zog ikh tsu der mamen: -her,  
Zolst mir nor nit shtern,  
Vel ikh, mame, eyns un tsvey  
Bald a foygl vern...

Ikh vel zitsn oyfn boym  
Un vel im farvign  
Ibern vinter mit a treyst  
Mit a sheynem nign.

Zogt di mame: - nite, kind -  
Un zi veynt mit trern -  
Vest kholile oyfn boym  
Mir far froyrn vern.

Zog ikh: -mame, s'iz a shod  
Dayne sheyne oygn  
Un eyder vos un eyder ven,  
Bin ikh mir a foygl.

Veynt di mame: - ltsik, kroyn,  
Ze, um gotes viln,  
Nem zikh mit a shalikl,  
Kenst zikh nokh farkiln.

Di kaloshn tu zikh on,  
S'geyt a sharfer vinter  
Un di kutshme nem oykh mit -  
Vey iz mir un vind mir...

- Un dos vinter-laybl nem,  
Tu es on, du shovte,  
Oyb du vilst nit zayn keyn gast  
Tsvishn ale toyte...

Kh'heyb di fligl, s'iz mir shver,  
Tsu fil, tsu fil zakhn,  
Hot di mame ongeton  
Ir feygele, dem shvakhn.

Kuk ikh troyerik mir arayn  
In mayn mames oygn,  
S'hot ir libshaft nit gelozt  
Vern mir a foygl...

Oyfn veg shteyt a boym,  
Shteyt her ayngebogen,  
Ale feygl funem boym  
Zaynen zikh tsefloygn..."

As he finished singing, he looked over Erin's shoulder to check up on her. The teen's eyes were half closed, her mouth partially open as she breathed slow, deep breathes. She was in a deep, peaceful sleep that he had absolutely no desire to stir her from. As quietly as possible, he stood up from the bed and pulled the blank onto Erin's shoulders. She sighed in her sleep, completely oblivious.

Before he left, he looked at the teen fast asleep.

"Sweet dreams, Erin." He whispered kindly, "You're going to need it. You're healing will not be not be easy, I know that for certain."

With that, he crept out into the hallway, shutting the door behind him.


	9. Chapter 9

Erin woke up early that morning. She was alone, she discovered happily. Maybe then the pesky adults would leave her alone for at least five minutes. It wasn't that difficult to see she wanted to be left alone.

The teen changed into a pair of blue corduroys and a dark green t-shirt. She combed her jet black locks. These were items she found around the room given to her. She laced up her black chuck taylors, preparing for whatever the day would bring.

She pushed open the door to walk out into the hallway. The sun was just barely on the horizon of the trees the surrounded the house. Erin made her way down the hallway to the living room. It was the same room where Ari had dealt with her minor injuries the day before.

There he sat, on the couch once again, similar to the day before only this time, in his hands were a cup of tea and a newspaper printed in a language she didn't know. It could have been a child's drawing and she would have been none the wiser.

He looked up at her and smiled.

"Shalom, Erin. I didn't expect to see you for a few more hours. It's only seven. Sleep well?"

She scowled. He laid his newspaper down on the coffee table and gestured for her to sit down in a stuffed armchair. She rolled her eyes, and perched herself on the very ledge of the seat.

"What would you like to do today, Erin, after breakfast?" He asked, his voice kind. She cringed slightly as he leaned forward, his elbows resting on his knees. She knew he didn't care about her.

"I'm not hungry." She replied quietly, looking away for a moment to the piano against the wall. Ari watched her fingers tap unconsciously on her kneecaps. She does it without realizing it but he sees it.

He knows she wants music. It's her drug, it's her everything and they both know it. He reaches into his trouser pocket and withdraws her emerald green i-pod that his partner had retrieved from Kate earlier before continuing on his own way.

Her face lit up when she laid her eyes upon it. He smirked, finding her soft spot in her armor. He knew that she was a teenager and every teenager had a weakness. This teen was also a prodigy and music was her vice. Medicine was his prodigal calling and he would use her vice to make his vice work for the both of them.

Her small hand reached for it. His large on blocked it.

"After breakfast."

She grimaced but nodded. He smiled broadly at the small triumph he had made with this frustratingly stubborn child before standing. He picked up his cup of tea before looking to Erin.

"Let us go to the kitchen, shall we? I doubt there will be food in here, Erin."

She followed behind him slowly, not truly wishing to eat but her mind concentrated on the fact that he had her i-pod and the silence of the house was suffocating by every sense of the word.

"It's awfully quiet here…." She commented softly, looking out the bay windows in the kitchen that lit up the room. She looked to Ari who was working on retrieving items from cabinets.

"You can always play the piano and fill the silence with music?" He offered, setting a bowl and a box of cereal on the counter in front of her. She raised an eyebrow and poured a small bowl full. Ari sat on a barstool next to her and poured his own bowl full.

"Don't hold your breath." She said, eating her cereal. Ari ate his own, trying not to provoke her but knowing that he needed to get her out of her shell. He opened his mouth and let out a blunder that he was articulated ahead of time.

"That's a shame. This house is so quiet without music and I have no way to play any. Perhaps another time, yes?" He looked over to see her face hidden behind a curtain of hair. Her small pale hands were on the counter, shaking with anger. He continued on.

"Yes, I think that would be good. Perhaps tomorrow then? Or the day after? Or even the day after that." He continued eating his cereal and spoke nonchalantly. "You see, Erin, we have all the time in the world for you to decide when you want to play. I am a patient man so I can wait for – "

_CRASH!_

Erin knocked her cereal bowl off the counter with her cast as hard as she could. Cereal, milk and glass splattered all over the floor as she jumped down from her bar stool.

"Listen, I don't know what my sister's put you up to but listen and listen good. _I'm never playing piano ever ever ever again! _ All the stupid therapy and provoking in the world won't change that you…you….Damn it!" She stomped off to her room, leaving footprints in the milk and down the hallway on the hardwood.

He could have cheered but chose to finish his own breakfast. _We've made progress, my Caitlin. WE got a reaction out of the human stone!_


	10. Chapter 10

She stormed off to the living room, fuming over Ari's actions. Erin snatched the I-pod off the coffee table before stalking out the front door. She knew that not telling Ari would probably worry him but she honestly didn't care a bit at that one point in time.

Erin ran as fast as she could. She didn't know where she was going to run away or go tree climbing or what but she knew that she had to get away from the house. The house was a prison at that point of time and she need a bit of freedom.

"Erin!"

She casted a glance over her shoulder to see Ari running after her. Instincts told her to stop when he called for her. Instead, she stupidly ran faster, high tailing it for the woods to hopefully lose him there. It never actually accorded to her that he was athletically built man used to running long distances, especially in sweltering heat. The seventy five degree March weather was practically air conditioning!

She felt his arms come around her middle, her arms pinned to her side. The momentum of his body hitting hers caused the two of them to slam into the grass with a large of amount of unnecessary force. Black spots appeared in front of her eyes as the wind forced out of her by Ari's heavy weight.

"Erin, what the hell do you think you're doing?" He demanded angrily at the young teen in his arms. She flailed against him as she attempted to stand up. He held her to him as tightly as he could, trying not to hurt her at the same time and without leaving marks. Her sister would literally kill him if she came back with bruises.

"Let me go! I want to go home! Let me go!" She cried, trying to get her arms free. She felt tears rolling down her cheeks. They burned her vision, making her almost feel sick. He pressed her against his chest, his chin resting against the top of her head. She soon exhausted herself and collapsed against him.

"You can't, not yet. You have to stay here, with me." He cooed, stroking her hair. She jerked her head away, refusing to have any comfort at all; not from him, not from anyone. She didn't deserve it.

"It's not fair! She sobbed, "I want my sister. Please, Ari."

The heart wrenching loneliness in her voice made his heart break. This shocked him that he would have such a ground breaking reaction to the teen when he had only known her for two short days. He sighed, and held her closer.

"I can't. You have to stay."

Her voice begged him softly as she lost all stubborn will. "Please?"

"No."

Erin broke into a new wave of sobs, burying her face into her hands. He sat cross-legged on the grass, her sitting on his lap with her legs outstretched. All Ari wanted to do was hug her, kiss her forehead, and tell her everything's alright. He knew that would be foolish since the teen didn't trust, nor even like him. Instead, he just smoothed her hair, rocked her side to side and held her as she cried every last tear.

"I want to go home."

"I know."

And he did know. He knew that when she said _home_, she wasn't talking about Kate's apartment. Sadly, the teen would never admit to it. She finally stood, wiped her eyes on her sleeve and walked back to the house, her shoulders that were once held with a pianist's poise were now hunched over in defeat.

A small part of him reached out to the girl, knowing perfectly well that being in what could be called a rehabilitation place against her will was not a place that she or anyone would want to be. She was only seventeen as well.

He waited a few minutes before returning to the house as well. Inside, he saw that the mess from breakfast was cleaned up, the milk sopped up and the glass in the trash can. In the living room, the i-pod had been returned to the coffee table and she sat to the piano.

Her long, trained fingers traced the keys but never pressed down for any sound to admit out. He wondered how someone who knew the instrument like it was another part of their body could just give it up…just like that?

"I noticed that you play very well."

His voice made her jump. She moved to stand away from the piano when he placed a hand gently on her shoulder. Her back tensed like a cobra, ready to strike at any chance. Quickly, he moved away before she could.

"I also notice that you are asked constantly to play. Not just by me but by everyone who has been around since your parents' passing. Do you find it as strange as I do that no one has asked why you _don't_ play?" He asked, sitting down on the bench next to her. She scooted away, her back to him.

"My dad took me to my first lesson. He bought me my first piano and told me that I could be a famous musician. He would pay with every dime in his body to get me there. That's what he would tell me all the time."

He placed a hand on her shoulder gently. "You miss him a lot?"

She rolled her shoulders back, making his hand move away. "I don't want to talk about it. I'm hungry. Can I get cereal?"

He couldn't help but grin as he lead her to the kitchen and watched the teen wolf down two bowls of cereal. She ate quickly but like a lady. He gave her back her I-pod and that morning's episode was forgotten.

_Caitlin, you're sister's improving! We might have hope yet!_


	11. Chapter 11

Erin sat under the tree in the backyard. Her i-pod blared Nirvana as high as it would go as she leaned her head back against the tree trunk to close her eyes. Music was her mantra; it didn't matter what kind. All she knew that it was a certainty, a constant in her ever changing world. An F sharp was an F sharp, it didn't matter who was playing what instrument. It could be her, Kate, or even Ari at the piano and it would still sound the same.

Ari. Her mind turned to that morning's episode, her fists clenching. She felt that she was in a prison of sorts, the warden being a broody man with an obsession with her playing piano again. She sighed, some what content.

"Erin."

She opened one eye to see him squatting down next to her. He gave her a half smile before adjusting to sit next to her, leaning against the tree trunk too. She found his constant visits severely annoying but turned off her i-pod anyway.

"I made dinner. Come inside and eat."

She shook her head. His smile faded slightly.

"We could eat out here too. The sunset is nice."

She shook her head again.

"Going without supper is not an option, my Erin."

"Don't call me that." She scowled, pulling her knees to her chest with her arms around them. She rested her chin on the divide of her boney kneecaps that protruded from her jeans.

Ari fought the urge to throw up his hands and storm off. The child was so frustrating at times that he honestly wondered why he was doing what he was.

And then he remembered Caitlin smile, the way she looked at him when he offered to help her. Then he wondered what it'd be like to hug her in the morning as he made tea or to wake up with her head on the pillow next to his.

That was his fuel. He would never know what that would feel like unless he did everything in his power to help Erin….even if she was the most brattiest, smart mouthed, sulky teenager he had ever met in his entire life.

"Why are you like this, Erin? What have I done to you?" He asked in all honesty, sitting in front of her cross legged. He rested his chin on the heel of his hand, resting his elbow on his knee.

With a sardonic roll of her eyes, she stood up to leave only to have him grab her wrist in an iron grip. "Don't leave while I am talking to you. It's very rude." He wrenched down so she fell back on the grass heavily. "Much better. Now can you answer my question?"

"I can be any way I want to you." She snapped irritably, crossing her arms over her chest. He knew that was the first sign of her shutting him out so he went straight for her weak spot.

"Why? Because your parents died? Is that the excuse you're going to use from now on? For the rest of your life?"

"You don't know me! Don't act like you have me figured out!" She growled, her face animated with rage. It was the most alive he'd seen her yet.

"Really? I think I do. I used to blame everything in the world on my sister, Talia's death. She was only sixteen and killed in a bombing for a war that had nothing to do with her. I used to be just like you!" He let himself raise his voice slightly. It frustrated him that she didn't seem intimidated at all by his newfound _Dad voice._

She almost wanted to laugh in his face at his attempt to intimidate her. She dealt with music professors on a daily basis; people who would throw things if each note wasn't absolutely perfect or blending euphorically with the rest. He was nothing compared to that.

"It's hard for you to be like me, Ari, because I'm not in love with Caitlin!" She yelled. His eyes widened. "That's right! You don't think I didn't see the way you look at her or that she didn't tell me about your history together. I know what you –"

He raised his hand in a flash. She instantly flinched, protecting her head with her hands.

"Next time, my hand flies free. I am only a patient man for so long, Erin. Please don't push me to that limit. You won't like what you see." He snarled, anger surging through his mind. He was smart enough to not follow through, despite who much he desperately wanted to. The child said he didn't know her, obviously she felt that she knew him and she was wrong then too.

"But you get to push me all the time to play piano and eat but get to take my i-pod away whenever?" She countered, her face flushed with anger.

He hid a smirk, suddenly planning his next move perfectly.

"For your insolence, give me your i-pod back."

Her hands flew protective to her pocker. "No."

"Give it to me or I'll take it from you."

"Over my dead body!" She yelled, shooting up to her feet. He rose up as well to look down on her.

"Give. It. To. Me." He reached for her pocket only for her to shove him away. He fell back a step or two before quickly running forward again. Her cast flew up into his line of vision before he blocked it. His fist connected a lot more gently than he usually would punch.

It was enough for her to keel over. He drove his shoulder into her abdomen with enough momentum for her to swing onto his shoulders into a firemen's carry. He took the device out of her pocketand put it in his own.

Outraged was an understatement to what Erin was feeling. She also knew that screaming would not do anything but make things worse considering that no one was around for miles to hear it. Instead, she rained her fists down on his back and shoulder blades as he slowly walked back to the house.

"Put me down! Put me down!"

"I will put you down, Erin, when we get inside. At least then, I can watch you."

"You son of a –"

"Language, Erin. I trust you will mind it or I will do like American parents do and put a bar of soap in your mouth. I've never done it before so it'd be an adventure for the both of us, hmm?"

He opened the door and walked down the hallway, Erin still up on his shoulder. She squirmed but he tightened his grip on her legs.

"Hey! You said that you'd put me down when we were inside!"

"You are extremely foolish if you think that I'm letting you off the hook so easily, my Erin. We still have to eat dinner and then you're off to shower and bed." He told her, retrieving a roll of duct tape that had been on the front table by the door. It'd been left there after he and his accomplice had bonded the two captives up.

He was suddenly very grateful that he had her legs so she couldn't see what he was about to do.

He carried her back to the kitchen and set her on the barstool. Before she could move away, he whipped out the duct tape roll and wrapped it around her waist, binding her to the back of the chair.

"What are you doing? Stop!"

"I'm not going to hurt you if that's what you're thinking. You're still safe." He informed her, wrapping duct tape around each of her kicking ankles, sealing them to a chair leg each.

" Then why are you – "

He cut her off by tossing a plate of food at her. It skittered to a halt directly between her clenched fists on the counter. She looked down at it and then looked back up at him.

"The food is called Shwarma. It's a delicacy where I am from. Normally, I'd sit beside you and make sure you eat but I have a private phone call to make. You are to sit there and eat until that plate is completely empty. I will check up on you when I am finished with my phone call. Am I understood?"

His voice was more brisk and unemotional than usual. Erin knew she was in major trouble but felt the need to ask anyway.

"And why am I duct taped to the chair?"

"If you want to leave the table without finishing your dinner, I'll know by the sound tape being ripped. It's something I learned while working with recovering POW's."

He turned and left the room, breathing deeply. For the first time since she arrived, he felt in control.

Ari went to the living room, pulled out his cell phone, dial *67 and called.

"_Agent Todd."_

"Caitlin."

"_How's she doing?"_

"Today, she threw a cereal bowl across the room, tried to run away, chose to spend the entire day outside under a tree with her i-pod, threw a fit, and I had no choice but to duct tape her to a barstool to make sure she eats dinner."

There was a long pause. "_Let me talk to her."_

"No. This is progress. She's showing her anger. She's the most frustrating teenager I've ever met but they are like that at her age, are they not?"

"…_If you want to put up with her for a month, go for it. Remember, if you hurt her – "_

There was a resounding _BANG!_ Ari then heard the familiar sound of duct tape screeching.

"She fell over. I have to fix that. I will call you again tomorrow."

"_Tell her I love her and that I didn't abandon her!"_

"She's already well aware of that, my Caitlin."

He hung up and bolted to the kitchen. Erin was lying on the floor, still attached to the chair and holding her now-cracked cast to her chest as she grinded her teeth in pain. Ari lifted her back up onto the four legs before fetching as ice pack from the freezer to place on her arm.

"That sounded like it hurt. I told you trying to leave would end badly." He laughed as she hissed in pain. "Now eat up before it gets cold." He told her as he sat with his own plate next to her.

The two of them ate in silence. Occasionally, Ari would stab a piece of meat off her plate as a joke right before she would steal his couscous in some sort of retribution.

After he sealed up her cast and she showered, she came to the living room.

"Erin, I thought you were going to bed."

She looked down at her bare feet, looking small and fragile in her pajamas and wet hair.

"I…um….would you….um…do that…that thing…that…you know?" She mumbled, shifting uncomfortably.

"I'll be in your room in a moment."

She scrambled off as if he had just screamed at her rather than given her a smile and a nod. He noticed that after today, she had grown a lot more skittish than before. He couldn't help but worry that she was now afraid of him.

If so, that would ruin progress, not make it.

She was curled up in a ball on her side, when he walked into the room in an old soccer shirt and sweatpants for his pajamas. She was completely on the other side of the bed, as far away as possible with her back to him.

"Are you awake?"

"Yes. Will you do what you did last night?"

He raised an eyebrow before awkwardly sitting on the bed. He shifted so he was resting against the headboard.

"Erin, come here."

"No."

"I'm not mad at you for today, Erin. Please come here."

She looked over her shoulder before scooting backwards so her back was against his side. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders so she was leaning against his shoulder instead of the pillow.

"This is weird, Ari. Adults and kids don't – "

"Get your mind out of the gutter or else I'll never come and do this for you again." He replied in a tight voice. He knew it would seem strange but he wanted her to sleep in peace for once. His free hand rested on her head, stroking her hair gently as he began to sing in his low, sweet voice:

"_Oyfn veg shteyt a boym,  
Shteyt er ayngeboygn,  
Ale feygl funem boym  
Zaynen zikh tsefloygn. _

_Dray keyn mayrev, dray keyn mizrekh,  
Un der resht - keyn dorem,  
Un dem boym gelozt aleyn  
Hefker far dem shturem. _

_Zog ikh tsu der mamen: -her,  
Zolst mir nor nit shtern,  
Vel ikh, mame, eyns un tsvey  
Bald a foygl vern... _

_Ikh vel zitsn oyfn boym  
Un vel im farvign  
Ibern vinter mit a treyst  
Mit a sheynem nign. _

_Zogt di mame: - nite, kind -  
Un zi veynt mit trern -  
Vest kholile oyfn boym  
Mir far froyrn vern. _

_Zog ikh: -mame, s'iz a shod  
Dayne sheyne oygn  
Un eyder vos un eyder ven,  
Bin ikh mir a foygl. _

_Veynt di mame: - ltsik, kroyn,  
Ze, um gotes viln,  
Nem zikh mit a shalikl,  
Kenst zikh nokh farkiln. _

_Di kaloshn tu zikh on,  
S'geyt a sharfer vinter  
Un di kutshme nem oykh mit -  
Vey iz mir un vind mir... _

_- Un dos vinter-laybl nem,  
Tu es on, du shovte,  
Oyb du vilst nit zayn keyn gast  
Tsvishn ale toyte... _

_Kh'heyb di fligl, s'iz mir shver,  
Tsu fil, tsu fil zakhn,  
Hot di mame ongeton  
Ir feygele, dem shvakhn. _

_Kuk ikh troyerik mir arayn  
In mayn mames oygn,  
S'hot ir libshaft nit gelozt  
Vern mir a foygl... _

_Oyfn veg shteyt a boym,  
Shteyt her ayngebogen,  
Ale feygl funem boym  
Zaynen zikh tsefloygn..."_

When he finished, he looked down to see her still awake. He almost let out a groan of frustration until she asked him:

"What does it mean? It's very pretty."

"It's a Yiddish lullaby about a boy who wants to become a bird. His mother is so afraid of losing her baby that she loads him down with food and clothing and other unnecessary things. By the time he goes to the tree to join the other birds, they've flown away."

He looked down again to find his young charge fast asleep, her hands locked around his forearm that rested across her neck. Her face was completely peaceful and he knew that moving would ruin that.

He closed his eyes and slept for that night right where he was.


	12. Chapter 12

"…And so, if you aim the hit here" Ari held his knee up to Erin's abdomen. "It'll strike the liver. The enzyme that causes a feeling of terror." He grabbed his water bottle. "I think our lesson is done for today."

"That move sounds unpleasant." Erin replied, wiping sweat off her face with a towel. She sat next to him on the grass.

"It's effective when you have to…Never mind."

"POW's again?" She said this in a surprisingly teasing tone. He turned back around with a surprised look before sitting back down next to her.

"I'm afraid if I told you, I'd have to kill you."He laughed, tousling her hair as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. She cringed and moved away. For a moment, he froze, worried that he did something to overstep her boundaries.

"Ew! You're all sweaty!"

He couldn't help but smile broadly before rubbing his sweaty cheek on the shoulder of her t-shirt. She squealed in disgust. He grabbed her shoulders and wiped his forehead on her back.

"GROSS!"

He couldn't stop laughing, tickling her ribs. She kicked her legs out, laughing as he tossed her over his shoulder, still tickling her ribs. She screamed in laughter as he ran around the yard.

"No! Not again!" She laughed. He set her down and tousled her hair again. She grinned broadly before turning to run back to the house.

"What's for dinner? I'm starving!"

He stood there for a moment, being completely shocked before running off after her. She had shown improvement amazingly in the past nineteen days. She had started being what Ari could assume was a normal teenager. She stopped turning up her i-pod whenever he talked to her or starting a fistfight whenever she was asked to eat something. Erin had gained weight since she had come but was still extremely slender like her sister. Ari knew then it was genetics.

He found her in the kitchen with a two bowls of Ramen noodles. He sat down next her and started to eat one. She gave him a small smile around her fork.

"What are our plans for the rest of the day?"

He looked to the ceiling, trying to remember if he had something planned. "I don't remember. Shower for one thing. We both smell like dirty gym socks."

"At least you do."

"Yes, Erin, and you're just a bouquet of flowers yourself." He teased, poking her ribs. She scooted away with a giggle.

"Is that it?"

He didn't have anything planned this far into the day. Usually they got by with spending the morning together and spending the afternoon apart, her with her i-pod and him with work. He had to keep his bastard father at bay somehow.

She actually wanted to spend time with him?

"Well, we could always…?" He looked to the living room with the piano.

"If this is another _Lets get Erin to play Piano_ ploy, give it up." She informed him stiffly. A smile then graced her face, making him breathe easier.

"Yes, I suppose I should stop that now. It's even starting to get on my nerves how much I'm trying. How about we leave that alone, hmm?" He tousled her damp hair before going putting is bowl in the sink for washing later.

"I'm going to hit the shower. How about we reconvene afterwards?"

She nodded, finishing up her Ramen. Ari left her alone for the first time in nineteen days. She couldn't help but feel giddy at the fact that she was alone. She also knew that she didn't want to go back to the way things were before with turning up her i-pod whenever he talked to her or starting a fistfight whenever she was asked to eat something. Neither of them really liked that.

In fact, whenever she was around, she found that she didn't miss her father as much.

She quickly got a shower and changed into her pajamas. Ari was still missing so she decided to go walk outside by herself for a minute before he came back.

Ari pulled on a muscle shirt and sweatpants. He had thought maybe streaming Netflix through his laptop and the two of them could watch a movie or something. They were reaching a point in their relationship that they could do that sort of thing now.

He walked to her room. It was empty.

"That's strange…"

He searched the empty house twice over. A bit of worry tapped into the back of his mind.

"Erin…this isn't funny…"

His eyes then noticed one detail he had missed. The back door was slightly ajar.

"Oh Yahweh! Not again…." He groaned before bolting out the back door. He ran across the back yard, stopping at her favourite tree to look again. "Where could she be….?"

Erin swung upside down so her head was an inch above his scalp.

"Right here, Paranoid. I'm not going to run off just because you got a shower." She laughed. He looked up and gave a startled yelp.

"Whoa! Please don't scare me like that. What are you doing?"

She sat upright and looked down at him from up in the tree with a small smile. "I was looking at the sun set. Come up and see." He opened his mouth to protest but she climbed up into the branches and out of sight, leaving him no choice but to climb up after her.

She sat on the highest branch, a distant look on her face as she watched the sun sink into the horizon. He was almost afraid that she was going to fall. He had just removed her cast and didn't want to explain to Caitlin why she had to have a new one.

"How's your arm feeling?"

She rubbed her bare elbow. "Fine. I just hope it doesn't rain or anything." She said this with a weak laugh. Ari scooted onto the branch next to her and wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

"You're a good kid, you know that?"

She scowled, "Flattery is not becoming of you, Ari." They both laughed and sat for a while longer until Erin decided to speak again.

"I think I know how to play your lullaby on the piano."

He raised an eyebrow in surprise. "You can do that without even touching a piano?"

"Well…yeah. I can only look at a piano and be able to do it. It's not that difficult actually, if you know what you're doing…." She shrugged her shoulders modestly. He tousled her hair affectionately.

It was times like these that made him feel happier….almost like a dad. She leaned her head on her shoulder. He began to hum as she then began to sing softly in a very horrible Yiddish accent:

"_Oyfn veg shteyt a boym,  
Shteyt er ayngeboygn,  
Ale feygl funem boym  
Zaynen zikh tsefloygn. _

_Dray keyn mayrev, dray keyn mizrekh,  
Un der resht - keyn dorem,  
Un dem boym gelozt aleyn  
Hefker far dem shturem. _

_Zog ikh tsu der mamen: -her,  
Zolst mir nor nit shtern,  
Vel ikh, mame, eyns un tsvey  
Bald a foygl vern... _

_Ikh vel zitsn oyfn boym  
Un vel im farvign  
Ibern vinter mit a treyst  
Mit a sheynem nign. _

_Zogt di mame: - nite, kind -  
Un zi veynt mit trern -  
Vest kholile oyfn boym  
Mir far froyrn vern. _

_Zog ikh: -mame, s'iz a shod  
Dayne sheyne oygn  
Un eyder vos un eyder ven,  
Bin ikh mir a foygl. _

_Veynt di mame: - ltsik, kroyn,  
Ze, um gotes viln,  
Nem zikh mit a shalikl,  
Kenst zikh nokh farkiln. _

_Di kaloshn tu zikh on,  
S'geyt a sharfer vinter  
Un di kutshme nem oykh mit -  
Vey iz mir un vind mir... _

_- Un dos vinter-laybl nem,  
Tu es on, du shovte,  
Oyb du vilst nit zayn keyn gast  
Tsvishn ale toyte... _

_Kh'heyb di fligl, s'iz mir shver,  
Tsu fil, tsu fil zakhn,  
Hot di mame ongeton  
Ir feygele, dem shvakhn. _

_Kuk ikh troyerik mir arayn  
In mayn mames oygn,  
S'hot ir libshaft nit gelozt  
Vern mir a foygl... _

_Oyfn veg shteyt a boym,  
Shteyt her ayngebogen,  
Ale feygl funem boym  
Zaynen zikh tsefloygn..."_

**Sorry for the corny-ness. I wanted to have one chapter where they weren't fighting or arguing. **


End file.
